Jonathan hill



(No Model.) J- HILL.

FOLDING CHAIR. No. 294.234. Patented Feb. 26, 1884.

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JONATHAN HILL, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y.

FOLDING CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 294,234, dated February 26, 1884.

Application filed July 31,1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JONATHAN HILL, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Folding Chairs, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

Reference isto be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in

which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improvement. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same, taken through the broken line 90 m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3isaplan view of the same folded. Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation of the same folded, taken through the line 1 3 Fig. 3.

My invention relates to an improvement in that class of folding chairs in which the legs of the chair are crossed and jointed together in the middle, after the manner of the letter X, and the rigid seat-board is jointed to'the forward1y-inclined upper ends of the rear legs, while the front legs are inclined to the rear and extended upwardly and form a back, and form, also, a support for the rear edge of the seat. In this form of chair the rigid seat and rear legs both fold into the plane of the front legs and back, and in folding, the seat heretofore has had its rear edge provided with pins which slid in rectilinear grooves or slots in the back extension of the front legs, or else has been provided with a grab-coupling which embraces the back bars and slides thereon. When grooves are cut in the sides of the back, it weakens the back. When grab-coupling slides are used, they make much noise and sear the back, so as to look unsightly, and inboth cases the seat is, from the expansion and contraction of the wood forming the back, apt to cramp and bind from the friction of its sliding connection, and they are, moreover, an expensive construction.

My invention consists in pivoting or jointing the seat-board to the tops of the rear legs at or near the middle of the seat, and then, instead of a permanent sliding connection between the back of the seat and the back extension of the front legs, I leave the rear edge of the seat and the sides of the back wholly disconnected, and form in the sides of the back a transverse locking recess above and below, into which the laterally-proj ecting pins on the rear edge of the seat may be locked to hold the chair in a position for use, or in its folded position. With this form of chair the seat-board projects much farther to the front, and gives more room for thefeet of the occupant without striking the bottom of the front legs, and the seat is locked so that it cannot move either up or down about its central pivot, while the expensive grooves or sliding connection at the back are avoided, with their obj ectionable friction, and the full strength of the sides of the back is preserved, as hereinafter fully described.

A are the front legs, and B are the rear legs, of the chair, which are pivoted to each other by bolts or rivets G. The front legs, A, are connected near their lower ends by a crossbar, D, let intothe forward edges of the said legs, so that its outer surface will be flush with the said edges, as shown in Figs. 2 and4. The front legs, A, are extended upward to form the posts A of the chair-back E, which is attached to the upper parts of the said posts. The rear legs, B, are connected at their lower ends by a round, F, and have recesses F formed in their forward edges,to receive the cross-bar D and allow the said legs B to fold into the plane of the legs A, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.,

G is the seat-frame, the rear part of which is made of such a width as to fit between the posts A. The sides of the forward part of the seat-frame G are rabbeted to fit between the upper parts of the rear legs, B. The sides of 8 5 per parts of the rear edges of the legs B when the chair is opened for use, to give the said seat-frame a firm support. If desired, the shoulders I can be replaced by pins or other stops to engage with the upper parts of the rear edges ofthe legs B when the chair is opened for use; but I prefer the construction first described, as it leaves no open spaces at the sides of the rear part of the seat.

To the rear ends of the sides of the seatframe G are attached, or upon them are formed, pins or projections J, which, when the chairis opened for use, enter recesses K in the inner sides of theposts A, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and firmly support the rear part of the seat. when the chair is folded, the pins or projections J enter recesses L in the inner sides of the posts A, a little below the back E, to allow the scat-frame G to fold into the space between the posts A, so that the chair, when folded, will occupy no more space than the breadth of the bars that form the legs and posts. The chair is folded by taking hold of the rear edge of the seat, drawing the said seat back to withdraw the pins or projections J from the recesses K, and then raising the said rear edge until the said pins or projections enter the recesses L, and the seat will be folded in beneath the chair-back, as shown in Figs, 8 and at. The chair is unfolded by pushing the upper edge of the seat back to withdraw the pins or projections J from the re cesses L, and allowing the said seat to drop, the stops or inclined shoulders I serving as guides to bring the said seat into such a position that the pins or projections J will enter the recesses K automatically, and the chair will be ready for use.

To the rear side of the lower cross-bar of the seatback E is pivoted a button, M; or to it is otherwise attached another suitable fastening to engage with the seat-frame G when the chair is folded and lock the various parts of the said chair in place.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A folding chair consisting of pairs of legs crossed and pivoted or jointed together, the upper rear extension of the front legs being constructed to form the chair-back, and having transverse locking-recesses K L on their back edges, in combination with a rigid seatboard pivoted or jointed to the tops oft-he front legs at or near the middle of the seat-board, and having its rear edge wholly disconnected from the back, and provided with locking-pins adapted to fit into the recesses K L to secure the chair in its two positions, substantially as shown and described.

JONATHAN HILL.

Vitnesses:

JAMES T. GRAHAM, EDGAR Tarn. 

